Quiz: How much do you know about international students’ contribution to the US?

07 Jun 2019

International students are taking away places at US universities. Almost all Chinese students are spies. Foreigners do not contribute anything to America.

Tired of hearing “fake news” like this? Well, we are too. All three are in fact myths, even though one is consistently perpetrated from the country’s top government official himself.

Well, politics may lie, but data does not.

The truth is, international students greatly benefit the US economy. Test how well you know the extent of their contribution in the quiz below:

1. How much did international students attending US colleges and universities during the 2017/18 academic year contribute to the US economy?

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US$39 million

US$3.9 billion

US$39 billion

Correct! Wrong!

2. How many jobs did international students support during the 2017/18 academic year?

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4,622

45,622

455,622

Correct! Wrong!

3. How much have international students' economic contribution increased since fall 2007?

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1.51 percent

15.1 percent

151 percent

Correct! Wrong!

4. Which group of states benefits the most from living expenses, tuition and fees forked out by these students and their families?

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1. California, New York, Massachusetts, Texas, Pennsylvania

2. New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina

3. Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky

Correct! Wrong!

5. How much did the nearly 100,000 international students attending US community colleges during the 2017/18 academic year contribute to the US economy?

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US$ 2.7 million

US$27 million

US$ 2.7 billion

Correct! Wrong!

6. Which of the following countries account for roughly a third of money spent by international students in the US for tuition, fees and living expenses?

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India

China

Saudi Arabia

Correct! Wrong!

7. The Washington Post reported that US educational exports “are about as big as our total exports of soybeans, coal and natural gas combined". Is this true or false?

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True

False

Correct! Wrong!

8. As international students generally pay full tuition, their higher fees are used to cross-subsidise lower, in-state tuition rates (and scholarships) of American classmates. Is this true or false?